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“Quit Tamil Homeland”

Reconfirming the proclamation adopted at the Tamil Uprising in Vavuniya on 27 July 2005 and the subsequent endorsements at Batticaloa, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mullaittivu and Jaffna, the Tamil people in Trincomalee congregated in the Inner Harbour road playground, reiterated the demand to the SL military to quit the parts of Tamil Homeland that it occupies.

Excerpts from the declaration:

"After a half century since the independence of the Sinhala nation, Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism has shut all the doors to a democratic and peaceful settlement of the problems of the Tamil speaking people.

In this context, we the Tamil speaking people inhabiting our traditional homeland are forced to place our desperate and perilous plight before the international community. We the Tamils had our own Government in this Island before the European invasion. The British Government forced upon us the unitary form of Government for their colonial administrative convenience and annexed the Tamil Nation to the Sinhala Nation.

When the British quit this country in 1948, they handed over the governance to the numerically majority Sinhalese. Thus after improperly acquiring the governance of the country, the Sinhala race used their numerical majority to mistreat and oppress our people.

Against such oppression and discrimination the Tamil leadership of yester years protested with peaceful non-violent political campaigns. Although as a result of it, Agreements such as "Banda-Chelva Pact 1957", "Dudley-Chelva Pact-1965" were entered into, they were both abrogated unilaterally due to the Sinhala Buddhist extremism led by sections of the Buddhist monks and Sinhala opposition party leaders.

Considering the futility of winning over their rights and realizing that there was no Sinhala Statesman who will rise to the occasion and bring about a solution, the Tamils passed the Vaddukoddai Resolution on 14th May 1976 and on overwhelming Mandate was given by the people of the North-East in the 1976 Parliamentary Elections through ballot for secession.

The majoritarian Sinhala State continuously brutally crushed the just struggle of Tamils using their armed forces composed almost entirely of the Sinhalese. Due to this the Tamil youth were forced to take up arms to ensure the protection of Tamil speaking people. It was as a result of the armed struggle by the LTTE under the able guidance of our national leader that the State came down to start the peace talks under the facilitation of the Norwegians.

Three and a half years of cessation of hostilities, brought about in order to find a solution that will meet the just aspirations of the Tamil speaking people is being used by the Sinhala chauvinistic forces to further oppress and weaken them and to fortify their intransigent position.

In this difficult situation, the Tamil resurgence Day is taking place in Trincomalee. With State colonization continuing, all the rights of the Tamils being denied and racial discrimination continuing, Tamil speaking people in their traditional homeland have gathered in numbers to show their feeling against such blatant oppression.

The main objective of this Trincomalee Tamil National Resurgence Day will be to demonstrate to the international community the thirst for freedom of the Tamil nation for over half a century.

It would also urge the international community that they should not yield to the deceit of the Sinhala chauvinist governments and other forces.

Tamil speaking people desire to show their opposition to the action arbitrarily taken against the LTTE by the European Union without indictment, trial or judgement-the essential elements of the Rule of Law, under the Chairmanship of the British who have for years reaped the benefit of the Trincomalee Harbour and Naval Yard by its occupation. We therefore urge the European Union to be realistic, if they want to change the situation that has been created by the extremist forces on the ground against peace, and consider lifting their stand that LTTE delegations will not be welcomed to their member countries.

Wherefore we demand through this Declaration that the occupying Sinhala Armed Forces do vacate our land and seas with immediate effect.

We proclaim that an environment should be created to enable us to decide our destiny in our land on our own strength and for our people to continue to rise as a formidable force to procure the goal of a sacred and higher life of freedom.

Whilst making the above Declaration, we seek the recognition by the international community of our basic rights and life of freedom with peace on the basis of our traditional homeland, our nationhood and self-rule and struggle for sovereignty."

Human Rights Activist Mr.K.Sivapalan read out the declaration while a large gathering of Tamil people from all parts of the Tamil Homeland and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) legislators stood up and took oath. Clergymen representing all faiths attended the meeting and participated in the proceedings with enthusiasm. Convention Committee Chairman Mr.K.Thangarajah presided and parliamentarians representing NorthEast, K.Thangeswary, K.Pathmanathan, N.Raviraj, K.Thurairatnasingham, Selvam Adaikkalanathan and R.Sampanthan delivered speeches detailing the historical juncture in which the Tamil people are now in, without a political resolution of the Tamil national problem.

22 October 2005

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